SEO On-Page: Schema / Structured Data

Guides implementation of Schema.org structured data (JSON-LD) for rich snippets, enhanced search results, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Scope (On-Page SEO)

• Schema markup: Schema.org types for rich results, AI search visibility, and machine-readable content

• Schema.org vs. search engines: Schema.org defines 800+ types; each search engine supports only a subset for rich results

Schema.org vs. Search Engine Support

Schema.org and Google Structured Data are not fully aligned. Schema.org is an open vocabulary (800+ types); Google, Bing, and other engines each support only a curated subset for rich results.

Engine Support Notes

Google Subset only Only types in Google's search gallery generate rich results. Valid Schema.org markup not in Google's list won't produce enhanced snippets—even if technically correct.

Bing Subset; different Supports JSON-LD, Microdata, RDFa, Open Graph. Some types (e.g., Product, Offer) have format-specific support. Check Bing Webmaster docs.

Other engines Varies Yandex, DuckDuckGo, AI search tools (Perplexity, etc.) may use Schema.org for understanding even when they don't display rich results.

Practical implication: Implement Schema.org markup for your content type. If Google doesn't show rich results for that type, Bing or AI systems may still use it. Always verify against Google's developer docs for Google-specific rich result eligibility.

Rich Results: Google Support (2025)

High-impact types: Product, Review snippets, HowTo (desktop), Article/News, Video, Recipe, LocalBusiness, Event, Breadcrumb, Sitelinks searchbox, JobPosting.

Limited or context-dependent: HowTo (mobile), FAQ (government/health sites for many queries), Education Q&A, Course, SoftwareApplication, Speakable (news), DiscussionForumPosting.

Deprecated: COVID data panels, some AMP-only formats, data-vocabulary.org.

Implementation: JSON-LD preferred; include @context , @type , stable @id ; ISO 8601 dates; match structured data to visible content. Validate with Rich Results Test. Rich results can increase CTR up to ~35% and improve AI citation. AISO Hub, Digital Applied

Schema ↔ SERP Features ↔ Rich Results (Strongly Related)

Schema, SERP features, and rich results are strongly related. Schema is the necessary condition for most rich results. When targeting a SERP feature, implement the corresponding schema type. See serp-features for the full SERP feature list and optimization.

Rich Results vs Featured Snippets

• Rich results: Schema-powered enhancements to standard listings (stars, breadcrumbs, FAQ dropdowns, product info). Appear within organic positions; do not require top-10 rank.

• Featured snippets: Google-extracted answer boxes at position zero. No schema required; content structure matters. Schema (FAQPage, HowTo, Article) can support extraction.

Schema Type SERP Feature / Rich Result Notes

FAQPage PAA, Featured Snippet FAQ dropdown; Q&A-style snippet. Eligibility restricted for many sites (e.g. government/health)

BreadcrumbList Breadcrumbs Path display in result

AggregateRating, Review Reviews / Stars Star ratings

HowTo Featured Snippet (list) Step-based snippet; desktop support; mobile may be limited

Article In-Depth Articles, Snippet Article rich result

VideoObject Video Video thumbnail; see video-optimization

Product, Offer Shopping, Product Product/shopping results

Recipe Recipe Recipe rich result

JobPosting Google Jobs Job listings

Event Event Event rich result

WebSite + SearchAction Sitelinks searchbox Site links for brand queries

Organization, Person Knowledge Panel Entity info; see entity-seo

Workflow: 1) Use serp-features to identify target SERP feature; 2) Look up schema type in this table; 3) Implement and validate with Rich Results Test.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

GEO = optimizing content so AI systems (Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini) choose, cite, and quote your content in generated answers. Structured data makes content machine-readable; AI engines extract and cite more accurately. Key schema types for GEO: Organization, Person/Author, WebSite, WebPage, FAQPage, HowTo, Article, Product, AggregateRating. See generative-engine-optimization for full GEO strategy.

Initial Assessment

Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for product type and content.

Identify:

• Page type: Article, Product, FAQ, Organization, JobPosting, Event, etc.

• Content: What entities to describe

• Goal: Rich snippets, AI Overview visibility, Knowledge Panel

Schema Type Classification

Core Types (General Use)

Type Use case

Organization Site-wide; company info, logo, sameAs

WebSite Site-wide; search action, site name

Article Blog posts, news, tool intros

BreadcrumbList Breadcrumb navigation

FAQPage FAQ sections; triggers PAA-style results

Person Author info; pairs with Article

ImageObject Image metadata for rich results

HowTo Tutorials, step-by-step guides. Note: Google may have deprecated HowTo rich results (2023–2024); Schema.org still supports it; Bing/AI may use it

Exclusive Types (Specific Scenarios)

Type Use case

JobPosting Recruitment sites, AI Job Matching

Product E-commerce product pages

Event Event pages, ticketing (not general blogs)

SoftwareApplication App pages, tool pages

LocalBusiness Local business pages

Dataset Data platforms, datasets

DiscussionForumPosting Forums, community posts

Quiz Education, flashcards

MathSolver Math tools

CaseStudy Case study pages

Recipe Recipes, meal plans, cooking instructions

Rule: Use core types for most sites. Use exclusive types only when page content matches (e.g., don't use Event on a blog; don't use JobPosting on a product page).

Action: Website/Product Type → Schema Mapping

Use this table to recommend which exclusive schema types fit a site. Match the site's content and product type to the most relevant schema. When in doubt, start with core types (Organization, WebSite, Article); add exclusive types only when content clearly matches.

Website / Product type Recommended exclusive schema Why

AI meal planner, recipe site, food blog, cooking app Recipe Ingredients, instructions, cook time, servings—highly relevant for food/meal content. Google supports Recipe rich results.

Job board, recruitment site, careers page JobPosting Title, company, location, salary, employment type. Required for Google Jobs.

Event platform, ticketing, webinar, conference Event Date, location, price. Use only on actual event pages.

SaaS, app, Chrome extension, tool, software product page SoftwareApplication App name, category, rating, price, OS. Fits product/feature pages.

E-commerce product page Product Price, availability, brand, reviews. Use with Offer, AggregateRating.

Forum, community, Reddit-style, Q&A DiscussionForumPosting Post content, author, comments. For user-generated discussion.

Data platform, dataset repository, Scale AI / Surge AI Dataset Dataset name, creator, license, distribution format. For data catalog pages.

Education site, flashcards, Quizlet-style Quiz Question-answer pairs. For educational Q&A content.

Math solver, calculator, equation tool MathSolver Math problem input, solution output. For math tools.

Restaurant, local service, store locator LocalBusiness Address, hours, NAP. For local SEO.

Case study, customer story page CaseStudy Client, outcome, methodology. For B2B case studies.

FAQ page, product FAQ, support FAQ FAQPage Question + acceptedAnswer pairs. Triggers PAA-style results.

Tutorial, how-to guide, step-by-step HowTo Steps, tools, time. Note: Google may have deprecated rich results; Bing/AI may still use.

News article, press release NewsArticle Use instead of Article for news.

Video page, podcast episode VideoObject / PodcastEpisode For video/audio content. See video-optimization for VideoObject, thumbnail, key moments.

Examples:

• AI meal planner (e.g., generates weekly meal plans with recipes) → Add Recipe schema to each recipe/meal page; Article or WebPage for landing pages

• AI writing tool → SoftwareApplication on product page; Article on blog

• Recruitment SaaS → JobPosting on job listing pages; SoftwareApplication on product page

• Recipe blog → Recipe on each recipe post; Article for non-recipe posts

Output: When recommending schema, state: (1) which exclusive types fit the site/product, (2) which page types get which schema, (3) core types to add site-wide (Organization, WebSite, BreadcrumbList).

Article / BlogPosting / NewsArticle: Type Selection & Implementation

Choose the most specific type that matches content:

Type Use case

BlogPosting Informal blog posts; individual authors; regularly updated

Article Formal, evergreen content; tool intros; encyclopedic

NewsArticle Time-sensitive news; recognized publishers

Required properties: headline (max 110 chars), image (min 1200px wide; absolute URL), datePublished (ISO 8601), author (Person or Organization), publisher (Organization with logo).

Recommended: dateModified, description, mainEntityOfPage (canonical URL).

Date display for CTR: Google recommends showing only one date on the page. If both datePublished and dateModified are visible, Google may pick the wrong date for SERP display—Search Engine Land saw ~22% CTR drop. Best practice: show dateModified if it exists, otherwise datePublished. Keep both in JSON-LD; the rule applies to visible date only.

JSON-LD example (BlogPosting):

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "The Ultimate SEO Checklist for 2025", "description": "A complete guide to optimizing blog posts for search and AI.", "image": "https://example.com/image.jpg", "datePublished": "2025-01-15T09:00:00Z", "dateModified": "2025-02-01T14:30:00Z", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Doe", "url": "https://example.com/author/jane" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Example", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://example.com/logo.png" } } }

Place in <head> via <script type="application/ld+json"> . For article pages, use og:type: article with og:article:published_time, og:article:modified_time, og:article:author. See article-page-generator, open-graph.

BreadcrumbList

For breadcrumb navigation. Schema must match visible breadcrumbs exactly. See breadcrumb-generator for UI, placement, and semantic HTML.

Requirement Guideline

Format JSON-LD in <script type="application/ld+json">

URLs Absolute URLs with https:// for each item

Position Sequential integers starting from 1

Match Schema must match visible breadcrumbs exactly

JSON-LD example:

{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://example.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Category", "item": "https://example.com/category/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Current Page", "item": "https://example.com/category/current-page/" } ] }

Multiple paths: Google supports multiple BreadcrumbList objects on the same page when a page is reachable via multiple paths (e.g., product in multiple categories). Use an array of BreadcrumbList objects.

Best Practices

Principle Guideline

Accuracy Data must match visible page content; never add invisible or misleading data

Completeness Include all required properties per type

Most specific type Use NewsArticle over Article when applicable

JSON-LD Preferred format; place in <script type="application/ld+json">

@id for entities Use @id for Organization, Person to enable entity linking; see entity-seo

Phased implementation Add required properties first; then optional for optimization

Validation Test with Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator

inLanguage (multilingual) Add "inLanguage": "en-US" (IETF BCP 47) to match hreflang; localize names, descriptions, FAQs for rich snippets per locale

Multilingual Schema (inLanguage)

For multilingual sites, add inLanguage to JSON-LD to reinforce language targeting. Align with hreflang values (e.g. "inLanguage": "zh-CN" with hreflang="zh-CN" ).

Localize schema data: Translate structured data fields (name, description, FAQ acceptedAnswer, etc.) for each locale to improve rich snippet CTR in that language.

Types that support inLanguage: Article, BlogPosting, WebApplication, FAQPage, HowTo, Product, Organization.

Implementation Workflow

• Analyze page type and content; choose matching Schema type

• Select format — JSON-LD recommended (Google, Bing, AI tools support it)

• Write structured data; start with required properties

• Validate with Rich Results Test, Schema Markup Validator

• Deploy and monitor via Search Console enhanced reports

Common Errors and Fixes

Error Fix

Data doesn't match visible content Schema must describe only what users see

Missing required properties Check Google/Schema.org docs for each type

Wrong type for page Don't use Event on non-event pages; don't use JobPosting on product pages

Format/syntax errors Validate JSON-LD; check quotes, brackets, commas

Over-markup Mark only relevant content; avoid stuffing unrelated types

Implementation

Next.js (metadata)

export const metadata = { other: { 'script:ld+json': JSON.stringify({ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "...", "description": "...", "inLanguage": "en-US", "image": "https://example.com/image.jpg", "datePublished": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z", "dateModified": "2024-01-15T00:00:00Z", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "..." }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "...", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "..." } } }), }, };

HTML (generic)

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "...", "description": "...", "inLanguage": "en-US", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "..." }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "...", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "..." } } } </script>

Validation Tools

Tool Purpose

Google Rich Results Test Check if Google can generate rich results

Schema Markup Validator Validate against Schema.org spec

Search Console Enhanced reports; monitor validity over time

Output Format

• Action first: Use the Website/Product Type → Schema Mapping table to recommend which exclusive schema fits the site (e.g., AI meal planner → Recipe; SaaS tool → SoftwareApplication)

• Schema type recommendation (core vs. exclusive)

• Page-level mapping: Which pages get which schema

• JSON-LD structure with required properties

• Validation steps

• References: Schema.org, Google Structured Data, Bing Markup

Related Skills

• article-page-generator: Article structure; Article/BlogPosting/NewsArticle schema; date display

• serp-features: Strongly related—schema maps to SERP features; see mapping table above

• faq-page-generator: FAQPage schema; FAQ content structure

• breadcrumb-generator: BreadcrumbList schema implementation

• featured-snippet: FAQPage, HowTo for snippets

• video-optimization: VideoObject, video sitemap, thumbnail, key moments

• entity-seo: Organization, Person for entity recognition; @id; Knowledge Panel

• indexing: Google Indexing API for JobPosting, BroadcastEvent